Greek seamen petition for release

Two Greek seamen, barred from leaving Taiwan, handed a petition to Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) officials yesterday in the hope of attaining their immediate release.

Their petition, however, is unlikely to change the EPA's position, which responded by saying it was Taiwan's undeniable right to hold the two seamen.

The two men were accompanied by the Taiwan Association for Human Rights (台權會), their lawyer and the wife and two sons of Vasileios Sardis, the ship's chief engineer.

"We are simply bargaining chips who cannot help with the negotiations," said Evangelos Lazardis, the ship's captain, who compared the Taiwanese government's "claim for ransom" with those of Abu Sayyaf rebels in the Philippines.

"Taiwan's government has shoved human dignity aside for the compensation," he said.

Lazardis and Sardis, part of crew of the Greek cargo vessel M/V Amorgos, were prohibited from leaving the country by the EPA shortly after the oil ship ran aground off Taiwan's southern coast in January, spilling 1,150 tonnes of oil into the ocean.

Concessions

Lin Ta-hsiung, the EPA's deputy director of water protection, insisted that holding them was Taiwan's undeniable right.

"The ship's insurance company has given us nothing as far as compensation goes and lacks sincerity in settling the dispute," Lin said.

Defending the government's actions, Lin noted that the administration had let other crewmembers of the ship go home.

"If we don't care [about human rights], why did we rescue them when we could have let them die at sea." Lin said.

Lin also quoted Article 73 from the UN's Law of the Sea to argue that international law supports the government's right to detain the crewmen.

The meaning of the article, however, has been disputed by legal experts.

The article states that detained or arrested crews that violate a country's exclusive economic zone should be freed promptly once proper security precautions have been taken.

Legal professionals argue that the clause is in fact designed to protect human rights, not allow the government to hold the seamen indefinitely.

The oil spill is the first case Taiwan has faced since the Ocean Pollution Control Act (海洋污染防治法) went into effect last November.

The act allows the detention of a foreign ship's goods or staff to ensure the ship's insurance company hands over some guarantee or compensation.

Jen Hsiao-chi (任孝琦), senior secretary to the administration's head, said last week that because the Norway-based insurance company has failed to sign a guarantee of international arbitration, negotiations between the two sides have broken down.

Guarantees demanded

The administration insists that the guarantee must be signed before the seamen are released.

"Filing a lawsuit to end the dispute is risky because the insurance company may refuse to appear in court or accept the verdict," Jen said.

Charles Shih (施宗立), the men's attorney, said he understands the government's concerns, especially since Taiwan lacks official diplomatic ties with Norway.

"The seamen should not be sacrificed because of Taiwan's peculiar international status," the lawyer said. "Besides, is Taiwan such a weak country that it cannot find other ways to claim its rights?"

Talk surrounding the case has reportedly spread all the way to Greece, with rumors that Greece is threatening to close down its representative office in Taiwan if the two men are not released.